When you grow up…
When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Do you remember? Perhaps you wanted to be a doctor, a truck driver, or a teacher. The sky was the limit! A child’s imagination and understanding of the world is only forming. Yet those young minds have great fervor towards the world that lies just outside their front door.
Career Night
Last month at a family night, four guests presented their exciting careers. The guests represented fields
from health care, construction, military, and engineering. Children visited each table to learn more. They engaged with building Legos to sticking band aids on an oversized plush dog with “ouchies” and held hats and small models of ships and submarines. Little children colored themed coloring pages and older children followed a handout to interview the guests about their career. They asked questions about the level of education needed, what it was like to work at that job, and salary ranges. One child already knew they wanted to be an architect and really enjoyed talking to presenter and Board Member, Dan Lyons, about construction!
Parents were also engaged to hear career stories. A couple Saranam parents are currently in the nursing field and swapped stories of their new experiences with an accomplished nurse practitioner. Another parent was surprised to hear about the career of aerospace engineering. She thought that was cool! The parents in attendance are currently enrolled in classes at CNM and other certification programs. They are so excited for the opportunity at Saranam to identify their educational goals and start classes to further their paths.
Education is Key to Stability
When adults increase their education they increase their income, can provide for their families in more ways, and their confidence is an incredible example for their children.
Family Nights
At Saranam, one of the ways we teach families to be and grow together is at our weekly family nights. These evenings of activities, in community with other families, take place twice a week. One night is a fun night and the other night follows the curriculum from the life skill classes that the adults are attending during the days. For example, when adults are taking financial management classes, families are learning and talking about money with age-appropriate activities. This is an example of the two-generational approach we use to address the needs of both adults and children together.
The Family Activity Coordinators follow the Money as You Grow program from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Various topics are covered, such as Needs vs Wants, Making Choices, and the Value of Saving as well as exploring careers. One of the objectives is to understand that thinking about the future now prepares us for a better future, and planning helps us to accomplish our goals. The coordinators are vital in this role because they plan, prepare the materials, and lead the activities. With a room full of children of all ages, it can get a little crazy. They handle the organized chaos with grace and understanding. Volunteers are also tremendously helpful. It is an opportunity for children to learn from and engage with adults as role models.
A Small Moment, Big Impact
Saranam’s program has big and small moments for families to learn. Family nights offer children and parents the chance to play games together, read together, and try new activities together. These are the building blocks for strengthening communication and trust. A child that placed band aids on the plush dog on career night may one day become a surgeon. You never know what small moment may potentially become the biggest memory for a child to reflect on some day.